Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Bodfish, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bodfish in the 24 hours to 3:40 am PST (11:40 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 10 km (6 mi) SSW, at 3:38 pm PDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Bodfish
This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) south-southwest of Bodfish, CA, at 6:58 am PDT on 27 October 2018 (13:58 UTC), 4.6 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 22km SSW of Bodfish, CA
45 km (28 mi) E of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 6:58 am PDT on 27 October 2018 ()
- Where
- 22 km (14 mi) south-southwest of Bodfish, CA · earthquakes near Bodfish
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 6 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Kern County, 18 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Breckenridge fault, under 1 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2863 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bodfish, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Bodfish, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 40 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Bodfish, 22 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Likely felt in: Bodfish 22 km, intensity II · Tehachapi 30 km, intensity II · Arvin 33 km, intensity II · Wofford Heights 36 km, intensity II · Lamont 37 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,200 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 280,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 12,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 8,800× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,200 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.3× more
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 25 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 32 km W of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 48 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 12 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 16 km SSE of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 35.3913, -118.5443. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 18 km (11 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 96 km (59 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Ventura County, CA | 127 km (79 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Kings County, CA | 137 km (85 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 23km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 9km ESE of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.5 15km S of Bodfish, CA
- 2.1 15km S of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 20km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 3.4 19km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.3 22km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.9 26km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 9km WSW of Lamont, CA
- 2.1 20km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.5 23km NW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 23km ENE of Arvin, CA
- 1.8 17km SSE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 6km NNE of Tehachapi, CA
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.